110 Culture Post 2

[Are Oelsner - 아리]

Korean culture is much more formal that that of the United States. There is a lot more respect for family and elders and it is also is more prominent in the language. Elders have different titles and honorifics based on your relationship with them. There are certain actions you take if the person you are talking to is older than you or your superior. For example, at the dinner table it is expected that younger people will pour drinks for their elders, and while pouring it is considered good manners to pour with one hand and hold the elbow of that hand with your other hand. When communicating there are actually three different levels of formality you can use: polite, informal, and deferential styles. Most of the time when people speak to a person of similar rank and age they use the common polite style, where most sentences end with the word "yo". When you know the person you are talking to and their age/position in society you can determine how you should speak to them. When speaking to someone older than you often you are supposed to speak in a deferential style, politely and with honorifics. However if you are speaking to someone younger than you, you can be more informal and use what they call "half-words" with them.